Vidic deal a boost for United

NEMANJA VIDIC has signed a four-year contract extension with Manchester United.

The announcement puts an end to the intense debate surrounding the Serbian’s future. The defender has been persistently linked with a move away from Old Trafford over the last 18 months..

Although Vidic never gave any impression of knowing where the stories about his apparent discontent in Manchester had come from, they never went away and both AC Milan and Real Madrid were said to be showing an interest in the 28-year-old after the World Cup this summer.

However, United chief executive David Gill sprung a surprise during the club’s pre-season tour of North America when he confirmed that Vidic, who was not present, had agreed outline terms on a new contract.

The finishing touches have now been made, leaving United boss Alex Ferguson glad to have Vidic around until 2014.

“We are delighted Nemanja has committed his future to the club,” he said. “This kills all the silly speculation over the past few months.

“Nemanja has developed into one of the best centre-halves in Europe and we are pleased he will be here for many years to come.”

Famed for his strength and no-nonsense approach to keeping forwards at bay, the only opponent he has consistently had trouble against is Liverpool’s Fernando Torres.

Vidic was a central figure in each of United’s three successive title wins and their Champions League triumph over Chelsea in 2008.

With Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville missing and Ryan Giggs starting on the substitutes’ bench, Vidic has skippered United this term and led the Old Trafford outfit to their Community Shield triumph over Chelsea at Wembley earlier this month.

“I am very happy to sign this contract,” he said. “I came to this club when I was young and have developed enormously with the help of the manager, coaching staff and my team-mates. During my time here we have had a lot of success and I look forward to continuing that success in the coming seasons.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, is confident Wayne Rooney is just a goal away from taking the Premier League by storm again.

Rooney’s recent has not been helped by a couple of niggling injuries that disrupted the end of last season and his start to the current campaign has been adversely affected by a chronic lack of pre-season action.

Prior to Monday’s Premier League opener with Newcastle, Rooney had been on the field for just 90 minutes in a United shirt, and a further 65 during England’s friendly with Hungary.

As Fabio Capello had previously worked out Rooney needs a minimum of 600 minutes on the field to reach his optimum performance level, it is clear the 24-year-old is going to find life hard at present.

Ferguson, himself a former striker, is acutely aware that the longer Rooney is forced to wait for that eagerly-anticipated strike, the harder life becomes.

However, the Scot’s intimate knowledge of forward play also means he realises the 24-year-old will only need to hit the net once for people to soon start wondering what all the fuss was about. “Strikers live by their goals,” he said. “It is quite straightforward. When they are not scoring they think they will never come. When they come they think they are never going to finish. He is no different to any other striker.’’

United travel to Fulham tomorrow looking to build on their 3-0 win over Newcastle last weekend.

The match sees Ferguson goes head-to-head with Mark Hughes, a man he feels is perfect for the Cottagers post Roy Hodgson.

“Mark’s experience at Blackburn makes him ideal for Fulham,” said the United chief.

“They are similar-sized clubs, although what happened to Fulham last season won’t happen again.

“What they did, with such a small squad, was almost a miracle.

“They played 63 matches, starting in July and ended up at the Europa League final in Hamburg. It was quite phenomenal.”